Japanese Text Book – Controversy

The China and Japanese controversy has now hit newsstands worldwide. However, the news seems to have grabbed little hold in the USA as of today. Only MSNBC is showing it on the front page.

You can read all about the controversy. However, you may be wondering about the book in question. The book is called “Fusosha.” It is a middle-school textbook, named after its publisher, Fuso Publishing Co. It was the same book that caused harsh criticisms in 2001 in South Korea for whitewashing Japan’s colonial-era brutalities when it was first published.

The new version is out now (April 2005) and this is what has angered the Chinese (Korea unhappy as well still - look up 2001 Japan/S.Korea for info). I understand it will be translated to Korean and Chinese and posted on a website. Unknown if an English version will be posted.

Good site on History Textbook Controversies in Japan: (www.ericdigests.org/2003-1/japan.htm)

Links of the Web Essays by Prof. Kanji Nishio (www.26.tok2.com/home2/nishionitiroku/links/)